Saturday, June 11, 2011

Insect Fine Dining - Would You Partake??

I don't understand. I realize that many cultures eat bugs such as Cicadas and Grasshoppers, but I don't think that is really the "norm" here in the US of A. Of course, I don't think the good 'ol US of A any longer has a "norm". Anyhoo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

An ice cream parlor in Missouri was serving up Cicada Ice Cream. NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! I say. And not only were they using bugs in their ice cream, they were not even getting the Cicadas from a reputable Cicada dealer (or is there such a thing???). They had the employees catch them and bring them in. Had the employees washed their hands before catching the Cicadas?? I bet not. So then you have unsanitary conditions on top of the bug condition. EWWWW.

At any rate, looks like the Health Department has put an end to this. Although if it was that popular maybe they will be bootlegging Cicada Ice Cream in the back room.

And earlier in the month La Oaxaquena Bakery and Restaurant in San Francisco had been selling deep-fried grasshopper tacos, a regional specialty of Mexico's Oaxaca region, until health inspectors ordered restaurant owner Harry Persaud to stop.

Patrons described the dish as resembling crunchy ‘McNuggets' and chips, with a "hint of chicken taste." What would Ronald McDonald think??? He is probably rolling over in his grave right now.

Here's the story . . . . . . .

Cicada ice cream, the dark horse ice cream flavor that made a Columbia, Missouri parlor famous, has been axed by health officials.

Sparky’s Homemade Ice Cream had been serving the dessert since the beginning of June, meeting customers with fanfare. Now, county health officials say, they will have to stop operations on the odd dessert.

Gerry Worley, an environmental health chief with the Columbia County Department of Public Health, said in a statement that the agency’s food code “doesn’t directly address cicadas,” and he has therefore advised against their use as an ingredient.

The ice cream was based in brown sugar and butter flavoring, while cicadas were supplied by employees catching the insect in their backyards. Their wings were then removed, and their bodies boiled and covered in brown sugar and milk chocolate.

One employee compared the insect’s flavor to a peanut, the Associated Press reported. The shop manager told the news service that he did not expect the original batch to be popular, but was hoping to reintroduce the flavor as the insects once-every-13-years appearance came again in 2024.